Acute Effect of Self-Myofascial Release Using a Foam Roller on Flexibility and Lower Extremity Power

The purpose of this study is to investigate the acute effect of self-myofascial release (SMR) applications using a foam roller on jumping and flexibility performance. Twelve physically active, athletic healthy male soccer player (mean age: 20.6±0.4 years), voluntarily participated in the study. The experimental design of this study was a Crossover Randomized Study. Each subjects participated in three different experimental conditions on separate visits to the sports hall with a 5 days’ interval and each took place at the same time of day. During the familiarization session, anthropometric measurements were taken. Second experimental day, subjects performed aerobic running and dynamic stretching (AR+DS) followed by jumping test and flexibility test, and the other experimental day, subjects performed aerobic running and self-myofascial-release (AR+SMR) followed by the same series of athletic performance tests. The sit-and-reach test (S&R) was applied to determine hip, back and posterior flexibility of the muscles of the lower limbs. The vertical jump height for the countermovement jump (CMJ) and Squat Jump (SJ) were measured using a Smartjump (Fusionsport). Wilcoxon Test (p<0.05) was used for statistical analysis. A statically significant difference was found in CMJ performance between AR+DS and AR+SMR conditions (z= -2.67, p< 0.05). The CMJ performance was detected higher mean value in AR+DS than AR+SMR conditions. However, no significant differences were found in SJ and flexibility performance between AR+DS and AR+KKMG conditions (p>0.05). In conclusion, 30-second bouts of lower body SMR foam rolling do not improve vertical jump and flexibility performance. It is recommended to test longer rolling times and different performance parameters